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Alik Keplicz
# Pay Gap
Polish MEP: 'Women must earn less than men because they're weaker, smaller and less intelligent'
The 74-year-old has received widespread criticism for his comments.
A RIGHT-WING POLITICIAN has said that women must earn less than men because they are weaker, smaller and less intelligent.
Janusz Korwin-Mikke made the comments at the European Parliament during a debate on the gender pay gap.
The 74-year-old Polish politician has previously been suspended from parliament after giving the Nazi salute and was also fined and suspended for 10 days after describing migrants as ‘human garbage’.
He began his speech by explaining that there are no women ranked in the top 800 of a physics olympiad in Poland – an annual physics competition for students. He said:
“Do you know which was the place in the Polish theoretical Physics Olympiad, the first place of women, of girls? I can tell you – 800th. Do you know how many women are in the first 100 chess players? I can tell you – not one.
Of course women must earn less than men because they are weaker, they are smaller, they are less intelligent, and they must earn less. That is all.
Spanish socialist MEP Iratxe Garcia Perez responded to his comments, saying she needs to defend European women against men like him.
According to what you’re saying and according to your theory, I wouldn’t have the right to be here as a member of Parliament.
“I know you’re very upset and very concerned about that fact that we women can represent citizens on an equal footing with you, I think I need to defend European women against men like you.”
It’s understood that he Korwin-Mikke could be sanctioned, fined or temporarily suspended over his comments this week.
Read: German workers will be able to see how much their co-workers’ earn in bid to close gender pay gap>
